


spirits linger on the porch

by eraseallpicturesofron



Series: The Ficlet Instruments [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 03:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20185666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eraseallpicturesofron/pseuds/eraseallpicturesofron
Summary: On the fifth day that Magnus drives him home from school, Alec invites him inside.(or: the Lightwoods move into Ragnor's old house and Magnus isn't quite ready to say goodbye.)





	spirits linger on the porch

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [sh_ficletinstruments](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/sh_ficletinstruments) collection. 

> ok so even writing 500 words is like... Impossible?? and yet... cutting this fic down to 500 words??? also Impossible.

Alec’s words float in the air between them, taking their conversation about physics class and the homecoming game down a road of uncomfortable silence in Magnus’s car, in front of the Lightwoods’ house.

“You can come in, if you want,” he had offered. 

There’s one voice in Magnus’s head, naïve as a teenager in love (in _like_), that ever-so-kindly summarizes his situation: _he likes you_. ____

_ _ _ _ _Alec Lightwood is sweet and smart and has pretty eyes with a bit of green in them, he reads the same books as you and wears soft sweaters and can’t make good jokes and wants you to come inside his house because he likes you.___ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Alec watches him with wide eyes, unexpectant but hopeful, gaze unwavering even as he wrings his hands. He doesn’t revoke the invitation, or say anything; instead, he waits, as though he could wait forever._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _He sparks a flame in Magnus’s chest, a new sort of warmth: their friendship spans a month long, but Alec is someone different. Someone to confide in. Someone to trust. Someone to like, a lot. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Of course, there’s another voice in his head, the one that’s been there since the accident, warning him to be cautious with his heart and no matter what, don’t go into Alec’s house. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _Don’t walk up the front steps_, where he and Ragnor would sit nearly every afternoon. The same steps Magnus had learned to play chess on, where, at ten years old, he would nag his best friend daily to play “one more game, I can beat you this time, I know it”. __ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Ragnor scoffed most of the time, responding with a melodramatic eyeroll and an unnecessarily audible sigh, and never failed to mention how Magnus irritated him beyond belief, but he would play anyway, every time, without fail. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _(They were the same front steps where Magnus sat for uncountable hours as the Fells packed every one of their belongings into cardboard boxes, suffocating amongst the growing stacks that awaited their rightful place in the U-Haul.)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Don’t go up to the blue-walled bedroom_, where he and Ragnor would stay up until the break of dawn. The same bedroom where Magnus had spilled navy nail polish on the rug the first time he’d ever painted his nails, when Ragnor said nothing despite the stain.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _It was the first place Magnus had been comfortable being himself, and Ragnor wouldn’t stand in the way of that. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _(It was the same bedroom where Magnus sat in for three hours, awaiting Ragnor’s return home after a grueling three months apart, where Ragnor’s father sat beside him and pulled him into a firm hug before telling him in a gravelly whisper, “Son, there was an accident on the freeway…”)_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Don’t try to be happy in a world without him, because there’s only one person who has ever truly loved and understood you, and he’s gone.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _“No,” Magnus blurts, and at Alec’s fallen face, he tries again, “I can’t today. Another time. Maybe.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, fam <3  
kudos and comments are a great way to let me know what you think :)))


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